Because of the substantial expense of maintaining dock space at marinas, and indeed the often absolute unavailability thereof, it is well known to stack or house boats on dry land in a series of vertically and horizontally arrayed "pigeon coop" nests, and then deliver the boats dockside upon demand of the owner. This is accomplished with a lift truck generally equipped with tines that are covered with padded material to prevent scratching or otherwise damaging the boat bottom.
While such nests solve the boat storage problem, they are only half the problem, the other half being the available parking at the marina for boat owners' automobiles.
Indeed, in view of limited space availability, especially in relatively urban areas, strict controls may be enforced by regulating bodies, with the number of permitted boat docks or storage positions being limited to the number of automotive parking spaces available at the marina. Furthermore, the cost of maintaining docks in the water is of itself an expensive engineering project, and further, the more docks are crowded with boat positions, the more difficult boat maneuverability becomes, and the less dockside or ramp space for lift truck or other shore-based boat handling equipment.